Blower-caddy dolly and vacuum cleaner



Jan. 12, 1960 R. M. SMITH ,337

BLOWERCADDY DOLLY AND VACUUM CLEANER Filed Feb. 24', 1956 ffl l/ewfqr Poke/f M 507/ #7 United States Patent BLOWER-CADDY DOLLY AND VACUUM CLEANER Robert M. Smith, East Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application February 24, 1956, Serial No. 567,681 2 Claims. (Cl. 15-323) My invention relates to vacuum cleaners and particularly to a multi-purpose dolly therefor.

The vacuum cleaner has evolved to the point whereby it is substantially a device of convenience. By that it is meant that the basic function of vacuum cleaners, that of cleaning by suction, has been known for some time, and the art is extremely highly developed. Advances in this art today relate largely to problems of eliminating inconveniences in existing vacuum cleaners. The present invention deals with three of these problems. First, the problem of mobility, that is, moving the vacuum cleaner from room to room as cleaning transpires; many contemporary cleaners are not mobile, hence must be carried from room to room; second, the problem of providing for handy storage and availability of vacuum cleaner accessories, such as the numerous cleaning tool attachments, to insure that the user of the cleaner always has the accessories with her regardless of where she is located with the cleaner; and third, the problem of providing in a low cost vacuum cleaner having diffused air discharge, an economical, yet effective, means for converting the normally diffused air discharge into a concentrated air stream in order to effect what is known in the art as blowing.

It .is an object of this invention to eliminate the above enumerated problems in a simple manner and at a minimum cost.

The object of my invention is achieved in one form by providing a dolly having means for supporting vacuum cleaner accessories and means for supporting a vacuum cleaner having a normally diffused air discharge in such a manner as to transform the normally diffused air discharge into a concentrated air stream.

Other objects and further details of that which I believe to be novel and my invention will be clear from the foregoing description and claims taken with the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a canister type vacuum cleaner mounted in my improved dolly.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the dolly alone.

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of a vacuum cleaner mounted in the improved dolly, the dolly being shown in section and a vacuum cleaner wand being illustrated connected to the dolly.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of a rearward portion of the dolly with portions broken away and shown in section for the sake of clarity.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 55 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation view similar to Fig. 3 but showing the vacuum cleaner by itself.

Referring to the drawings and particularly to Fig. 6, a vacuum cleaner 10 of the canister type is illustrated by itself resting on the surface S. The cleaner 10 comprises a substantially cylindrical, vertically oriented casing having a flat base which may be utilized by itself, as it is illustrated in Fig. 6, or in association with the 2 improved dolly 12, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The details of the internal construction of the vacuum cleaner 10 are not significant as regards the instant invention and, therefore, will not be described. However, it will be understood that mechanism is provided for inducing a flow of air through the cleaner. As can be seen in Fig. 6, the normal flow of air through the cleaner when the casing is supported by its flat base on the surface S is from the atmosphere into a vacuum cleaner tool attachment 14, through the flexible hose 16 into the air inlet 18 of the vacuum cleaner, through the vacuum cleaner casing and out through a substantially circumferential discharge slot 20, which is spaced above the flat base, to the atmosphere.

It will be understood that the flow of air through the vacuum cleaner is in one direction only, and that dust-laden air normally enters through the cleaning tool attachment 14, passes through the cleaner casing Where it is filtered, and is discharged out the circumferential discharge slot 20 to be diffused into the atmosphere. While some contemporary vacuum cleaners have structure built into them for selectively converting from diffused air discharge to concentrated air discharge, it is the low cost type of cleaner that has only one direction of air flow and no built-in conversion structure that the improved dolly is particularly adapted for use with. It should be understood that the diffused air discharge from the cleaner does not necessarily have to be completely circumferential, it only being necessary that it be substantially more than a concentrated air stream. If a concentrated air stream were provided, the benefits of diffused air discharge would not normally be obtained and a blowing arrangement would be inherently provided.

It will, therefore, be apparent that in Fig. 6 there is illustrated a representative, canister type, vacuum cleaner which may function by itself in a conventional manner. With the Fig. 6 type of vacuum cleaner, however, it will be apparent that there is lacking: (l) mobility, (2) a means for supporting vacuum cleaner accessories where the user is working, and (3) a means for concentrating the diffused air discharge into a concentrated air stream. As was mentioned, it is appreciated that some vacuum cleaners have provision for converting a normally diffused air discharge to a concentrated air stream. It will be apparent, however, that such provision usually involves valving or blower bypass arrange ments which are quite expensive, and it is the elimination of such expense which is contemplated by the instant invention. Furthermore, from a commercial point of view, the vacuum cleaner illustrated in Fig. 6 may be sold as illustrated and the additional feature of the conversion mechanism for effectuating blowing afforded by the improved dolly to be disclosed may be an optional item which may be additionally purchased by those consumers who desire it along with the basic low cost vacuum cleaner.

Assuming that a vacuum cleaner of the type illustrated in Fig. 6 is provided and it is further desired to achieve the advantages of mobility, handy accessory storage, and an air discharge conversion mechanism, the instant invention will supply all of these needs at a minimum cost. The improved dolly 12 incorporates the instant invention and comprises essentially a mobile body having an accessory mounting ring and structure for supporting and cooperating with a vacuum cleaner to form an air chamber and an outlet.

The dolly body comprises a plurality of walls for effecting the enumerated elements, and as will be apparent, may be fabricated in a variety of ways. Structurally, it includes a fiat lower wall 22., somewhat rectangular in configuration, a generally vertical outer side wall 24- that extends around the periphery of the bottom wall 22 and completely closes the latter, a generally vertical cylindrical inner wall 26 which is spaced within the side wall 24, and a top wall 28 which fits around the inner wall 26 and extends to the side wall 24. A plurality of openings 34 are provided in the top wall 28 for the reception of accessories A. Around the side Wall 24 there is provided a resilient bumper 32 for conventional purposes. At its lower side, the lower wall 22 supports a plurality of casters 33. Within the body on the rearward side of the inner wall 2-6 there is formed an opening 34 (see Figs. 3 and 4) which is covered by a rearwardly extending protuberance comprising the U-shaped side Wall 36 and the top wall 38. Top wall 38 lies contiguous with the inner side of a portion of the body top wall 2%, and these walls have a pair of aligned openings 4t and 42, respectively. Disposed within the aligned openings is an inlet pipe 44 which has a circular flange 46 through which securing means 48, which are illustrated as comprising rivets, extend to connect the pipe to the body top wall and the protuberance top wall.

The top of the inner wall 26 extends above the top wall 28, and its upper end supports an inwardly directed flange 56. On opposite lateral sides of the upper portion of the inner wall 26 is formed a pair of clamps 52 which may be of any conventional variety. The foregoing completes the structure of the improved dolly.

As was previously mentioned, the vacuum cleaner may be used by itself as illustrated in Fig. 6 on the surface S. If it is used by itself, it may or may not be provided with a bumper. If it is to be used with the improved dolly, however, it should be provided with a resilient bumper 54 which may be mounted on a flange 56 which is part of the cleaner casing. If the cleaner is to be utilized with the improved dolly, the dolly is so dimensioned relative to the cleaners dimensions that the bottom portion of the cleaner casing will fit within the inner wall 26 of the dolly, and the bumper 54 will rest on the flange 50. This can clearly be seen in Fig. 3. The clamps 52 are then secured to the cleaner, as by cooperating with the bumper 54 to thereby press the cleaner into substantially air-tight relationship with the dolly. When this assembly is effected, the bumper 54 performs the function of a gasket in that it seals the connection between the cleaner and dolly and thereby allows the formation of a substantially airtight air chamber 58 between the cleaner and the dolly.

With the vacuum cleaner 10 clamped in position on the dolly 212, the cleaner may be used as illustrated in Fig. 1 in a conventional manner. In this event, the dust-laden air will enter the cleaning tool attachment 14, pass through the flexible hose 16 into the air inlet 18, through the cleaner casing, out the discharge slot and into the chamber 53 which is formed within the inner wall 26 and around the lower portion or" the vacuum cleaner casing, out through the opening 34 to the interior of the protuberance formed at the rearward side of the inner wall 26, and out through the outlet pipe 44 to the atmosphere. This is illustrated schematically in Fig. 1.

It should, therefore, be apparent that if the vacuum cleaner 1% is used with the improved dolly 12, that'it will normally exhaust in a concentrated air stream even when cleaning in the normal manner. However, it should be realized that it is not necessary that it be used during normal cleaning with the dolly, if it is desired to obtain the diffused exhaust. If it is desired to convert the diffused exhaust of the cleaner to a concentrated air stream for blowing purposes, the cleaner is mounted in the dolly as previously described and a cleaning tube, such as the rigid wand is inserted in the outlet pipe 44 as is illustrated in Fig. 3. When so used, it will be understood that the flexible hose 16 may be removed from the inlet 18. Fig. 3 schematically illustrates the flow of air from the atmosphere in through the inlet 18, through the cleaner casing and out the outlet slot 20 into the chamber 5%, through the opening 34 and the interior of the protuberance at the rear of the inner wall 26, throughthe outlet pipe 44 and the wand 60 from which it may be directed to the place where it is to be utilized or the equipment which it is to actuate.

It will be apparent that the improved dolly is afforded mobility by the casters 33, and that it may be moved from room to room as cleaning progresses. Further, it will be apparent that the improved dolly, by virtue oi the openings 36, provides means for holding a pliirality of vacuum cleaner accessories and thereby insures that they will be available to the user wherever the cleaner is moved. Lastly, it will be apparent that the dolly affords a very inexpensive means of converting a vacuum cleaner with difiused air discharge to a concentrated air stream.

As will be evident from the foregoing description, certain aspects of my invention are not limited to the particular details of construction of the example illustrated, and I contemplate that various and other modifications and applications will occur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, my intention that the appended claims shall cover such modifications and applications as do not depart from the true spirit and scope of my invention.

What l claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. The combination of a vacuum cleaner and 21 separable doliy for temporarily and removably supporting said cleaner, said cleaner being self-contained in a substantially cylindrical casing having a flat base for supporting said cleaner on a surface when it is not supported by said dolly and having a circumferential air discharge slot in said casing and a circumferential gasket supported on said casing and spaced above said slot, said dolly comprising a body having a central recess for removably receiving said cleaner whereby said cleaner is adapted to be supported by said dolly in said recess to thereby form a temporary chamber in said dolly, said gasket cooperat ing with said body to place said cleaner and body in substantial air-tight relation, and an opening in said body which places said chamber into communication with the atmosphere, said opening being adapted to have a vacuum cleaner wand connected therein.

2. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein said dolly includes means for supporting vacuum cleaner accessories.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 921,632 Smith May 11, 1909 1,l83,129 Small May 16, 1916 2,656,097 Sheahan Oct. 20, 1953 2,740,981 Famolare Apr. 10, 1956 2,751,038 Acheson June 19, 1956 2,771,151 Osborn Nov. 20, 1956 2,779,047 Osborn Ian. 29, 1957 2,779,432 Meyerhoefer Jan. 29, 1957 ,7 ,541 Kemnitz Apr. 16, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 593,805 Germany Mar. 7, 1934 37,490 France Iran. 30, 1928 6,196 France Jan. 6, 1933 3 5 3 France .--.a.-- ,.--f Jan. 4, 1943 

